I normally only buy new boards, unless they are stupid cheap. The Slackcountry was basically brand new, it didn't have a scratch.

I mean really high rollin', I've already gone through about 6 or 7 boards & this will be my 4th pair of boots.
Were just under a month in & I got 4 maybe 5 more to go.
I just don't like forkin' out large anymore, I'd rather @ least make a little to try tonnes of new gear.

It's as much of a hassle, as it is to go buy a new board. Probably less, I don't do as much research.

Like I've said in previous post, I went through the same phase you went through... it was only a few season ago that I had a rotating selection of 7-8 boards. It got to the point that I was trying out a new board every week and I was spending more time "gathering gear" than I was snowboarding.

So for boots... why are you going through so many? You just want to try out more stuff? Or you haven't found a pair you liked? Or the type you like aren't very durable?

Agreed. I was up to 7 boards, but I'm down to 5 now. Plan to be down to 4 soon.

I have my rock board, my split, a NS Evo, a NS Heritage, and a Charlie Slasher. Plan on keeping the split, rock board, and CS, then selling both the Evo and Heritage and probably replacing them with a Proto as the all around, do everything stick.

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"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz

Agreed. I was up to 7 boards, but I'm down to 5 now. Plan to be down to 4 soon.

I have my rock board, my split, a NS Evo, a NS Heritage, and a Charlie Slasher. Plan on keeping the split, rock board, and CS, then selling both the Evo and Heritage and probably replacing them with a Proto as the all around, do everything stick.

Yeah, I saw that too. At $450 though, just not enough savings to forego a warranty. I can get it for 10% off at Loveland, plus an additional $30 off due to money I've spent on a demo.

__________________
"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz

If you are planning to ride it on much of the ice coast when you come back from your trip, I would go for the SL, from what I have read the proto might get a bit washy on icy days out here, but it's just what I have heard. Haven't ridden any of them.

It depends on what you were planning the to use the SL for. I got the SL as a park board that was pretty good on the slopes as well. Initial reviews of the Cobra make me think the Cobra is going to be better than the SL for what "most people" actually do on the SL... ride groomers, get some air off of natural features, butter a little on the flatter slopes, and ride powder.

I say "actually do" because a lot of people believe they need a twin board to do any type of freestyle tricks... just like people buy an SUV or a pickup truck imaging themselves to be some type of off-roading tough outdoors men... when in reality they are mostly driving to the office and buying groceries.

While I do think the Cobra will be miles better in powder than the Proto ... I laugh at the idea that the Cobra is mainly a powder riding board... boards like the Never Summer Summit, Burton Fish, Prior Khyber (all of which I've ridden) are true powder specific boards... the Cobra shape is just more powder friendly than your old-school true twin. The Proto is not "bad" in powder (virtually no modern board is "bad" in powder now a days)... but it is not particularly good in powder either.

Remember, I'm saying all of this even though the Proto is the board I rode most often last season... it's just that I was riding in the park most of the day. It wouldn't be the board I would grab for free riding with friends or on a powder day.

+1. What he said. Just starting to test my Cobra here in Niseko. Loving the board so far, but it is clearly a (directional) all-mountain board, not a pow board. Although it is probably better in pow than 90% of all general all-mountain boards, it cannot touch my Fish or Sick Stick or other dedicated pow sticks (Powder Snake, Charlie Slasher, Summit, etc.) in the fluffy stuff.

Well.... I demo'd both the Sl and the proto. It was my 1st time out this season here on the east coast. I rode the SL first and the proto second. To be honest... I felt the proto to be a bit stiffer, which I found odd. I was also really tired by the time I had to demo the proto so perhaps it affected my reasoning. The carbonium top was really cool... snow didn't stick to it as much as the SL.

After a VERY long time debating back and forth between the Sl and the 154 proto..... I ended up getting the 153 SL. It was a really smooth ride for me and I saved $40. It was also a bit less wide in diameter width.

The extra $40 I put towards a high intensity yellow lens - along with new Oakley Canopy goggles which fit my helmet nicely.

I have some pictures attached of helmet/goggles, the run I tested the boards on, and the board itself.

As for binding - I got Burton 2013 cartels on sale on a store near me. Hopefully I made the right choices!

Yeah I ride an SL out here on the east coast too, and I keep going back and forth on whether I should have gotten the Proto. I compromised and moved the bindings around so they stick was twin, and I've been happy.

Yeah I ride an SL out here on the east coast too, and I keep going back and forth on whether I should have gotten the Proto. I compromised and moved the bindings around so they stick was twin, and I've been happy.

Well, I don't mind the directional twin. It's only 1/2 inch or so wasn't it? The difference is so negligible to me honestly. When I ride switch, that 1/2' is not noticeable... I mainly got it due to price being $40 less, a nice smooth damp ride, and I found it to be more flexy/playful. Both were great. If the SL had a carbonium top - I would have picked it hands down in a flash without the long debate.